Waterless hand cleaners routinely have a gelatinous consistency. These cleaners often have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components which are blended together to affect removal of a wide variety of soils from the skin surface. While the gelatinous hand cleaner is effective in removal of material from the skin surface, subsequent water washing is invariably required to remove the residual debris filled gel. Additionally, a gel independent of an abrasive is often slow in removing substance from the skin surface. Conventional waterless cleaning compositions often contain as much as 45% by weight of organic solvents and high loadings of emulsifiers in order to solubilize grease and soil. These compositions require high concentrations of organic solvents and emulsifiers to remove hydrophobic materials through dual actions of emulsification and solvation.
Low viscosity, liquid waterless hand cleaners have proven popular and effective when used in conjunction with an abrasive article that retains the liquid in contact with the skin surface and provides mechanical action to disrupt soil or grease films on the skin surface. Representative of such products are those detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,971 in which an abrasive coated towel retains the cleaning composition.
Regardless of the viscosity, these conventional cleaning compositions have fallen out of favor owing to the high loading of organic solvents and emulsifiers that end up in wastewater, as well as the skin irritation associated with the use of such products. Volatile organic compound content (VOC) in consumer products is now tightly regulated and the acceptable limits of VOCs in such products are constantly being lowered. The high concentration of organic solvents and emulsifiers present in these conventional cleaner also makes subsequent removal of the cleaner difficult, often resulting in a residual film that retains soil and/or grease while the film tends to dry and irritate the underlying dermis. Owing to the environmental impact, cost, and skin irritation caused by contact with cleaner residue, there is a desire to reduce the usage of such solvents without compromising the cleaning ability of such waterless hand cleaners.
Thus, there exists a need for a cleaning composition that is amenable to impregnation into an article that has reduced ecotoxicity and improved skin compatibility while remaining effective against soils and greases.